Using Morse Academy on any PC - Windows, MAX OS X, Linux and Others

Morse Academy is an old DOS program that operates well on an older PCs. It needs just one feature to work under Windows - a sound card compatible with the older ADLIB sound chip that was once the defacto standard for computers to make "noise". With newer PCs that standard was dropped in favor of wave files. For a while a few manufactures used software to emulate the ADLIB sound chip with wave files. Sadly this made MA pretty much unusable with modern PCs.

A group of software engineers interested in DOS compatibility problems have been working to provide better support DOS under several OS platforms, including Windows XP. Recently Bob Creign, WV7W made me aware that DOSBox version 0.74 now supports MA type programs. I've tested it, found it easy to install and it works well on my Windows XP and Win7 PCs. Recently it was test under Vista and Windows 7, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions. It works well on all these versions of Windows!

DOSBox has versions for many other PC. It also runs on Linux, MAC OS X, Solaris, and BeOS to name a few. Morse Academy has become a universal program, that to the DOSBox crew!

You can download the DOSBox program from this web site by clicking here. Version 0.74 of DOSBox was released May 12th, 2010, which is the version posted on this web site on July 24th, 2010. If you want to keep up with the improving versions of DOSBox, follow its development at http://dosbox.sourceforge.net

The instructions below are for a Windows PCs. DOSBOX operates under Linux and Apple PCs. See the instructions for DOSBOX installation for those computers.

Here are instructions to follow to install DOSBox and operate MA. The instructions assume you first unZIP all MA files into the folder C:/MA. If MA is located elsewhere on your PC, make suitable name substitutions in the following.

  • Download DOSBox and save the installer file on your HDD, say in folder C:/DOSBox.
  • Execute the downloaded installer whose name is DOSBox0.74-win32-installer.exe
  • Just take default options in the installer and it will put the program into the folder
    • C:/Program Files/DOSBox-0.74 (on 64-but versions to goes into C:\Program Files (x86)\DOSBox-0.74.
  • After installation, start the DOSBox program
  • At the Z: prompt, type:
    • Z:/>Mount   C   C:/MA    [name of the folder containing MA]
    • Z:/>C:
    • C:/>MA
    • The standard MA menu will appear.
    • To select ADLIB sound card emulation just type the MA commands,
      • (O)ptions
      • (T)one
      • (C) Adlib Compatible Music Synthesizer
    • Refer to the MA operating instructions to use MA sessions

To simplify the operation of MA, you can setup DOSBox so that it automatically loads MA every time you start DOSBox,

  • Locate the file dosbox-074.conf in the folder C:\Users\Your User Name\AppData\Local\DOSBox (See Note below)
  • Load it into NotePad, or any text editor you use
  • Add three lines to the end of the file (the section is marked [autoexec])
    • Mount   C   C:/MA
    • C:
    • MA
  • Store the modified text file (overwrite)
  • The next time you start DOSBox it will automatically load MA
Note.

By default, the file is in a hidden folder so to find it you will have to allow Windows Explorer to view this folder. See Microsoft's instructions to do this at Show Hidden Files.

The path in XP and Vista may be different. For example, the XP path on one of our other PCs is

            C:\Document and Settings\Your User Name\Application Data\DOSBox\.

Try searching for the file name dosbox-074.conf on your C drive to locate it (remember to set "show hidden files, folders and drive" before searching).


By Joe Speroni
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